By Dr. Jonathan Mirvis
Over the past decade well over $100 million dollars has been invested in the United States in teen Jewish education and engagement. Large philanthropic organizations have made investment in this age group a priority and their crucial efforts continue to this very day.
While these investments have led to the development of creative and exciting initiatives, the goal of ensuring major market share for Jewish engagement and education among American teens remains elusive. According to the report "Effective Strategies for Educating and Engaging Jewish Teens" (March 2013) compiled by The Jim Joseph Foundation, BTW Informing Change and Rosov Consultants, only 20% of teens in the U.S. are engaged in Jewish activities. On the assumption that this number has grown over the past … [Read more...]

How NCSY and Legacy 613 are Helping Infuse Prayer with Power and Meaning
By Tova Ross
Before teens can effectively talk to God, tefilla needs to talk to them.
Tefilla is not only one of the core parts of Judaism, but of any solid yeshiva education, sometimes performed up to three times per day at school. Yet few schools devote any real time to educating students about its essential elements: the meaning behind the words, the awesomely transformative power prayer holds to connect with Hashem, and the ability to plead for our basic needs and desires and be thankful for all that we have. Amid Tanach, Talmud and Jewish history, all too often, tefilla gets lost in the array of subjects young Jewish men and women are mandated with learning - yet tefilla is a continuing mainstay in the life of … [Read more...]

By Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath
As a Jewish educator who works primarily with teenagers, there are some conversations that I’ve had more times than I can count: unique icebreakers, meaningful tikkun olam projects, best practices for talking about Israel. But at the top of the list is always the big question, the one that encompasses all the others, the source of endless debates and reflections: how can we engage teens with Judaism and the Jewish community?
For many teens, regardless of their early experiences with Jewish education, the bar or bat mitzvah experience is the culmination of their Jewish education, at least for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of minds working on solutions to the perceived exodus of the next generation, and while I have my own thoughts on the subject, I want … [Read more...]

Last weekend, the German community of Karlsruhe hosted the largest music contest in Europe for teens. Since the annual Jewrovision was first celebrated in Germany in 2002, drawing just 120 participants, the competition has grown to more than 1,200 of the most talented young representatives of German Jewish communities, plus an army of their fans, filling to full capacity the largest concert hall in town.
A deserving winner was named and celebrated at 1:30 a.m. - Chasak, the teenage club from Hamburg, who came out victorious for the first time in Jewrovision’s history.
Today, Jewrovision is much more than just a performing arts competition. The gathering presents an opportunity for German-Jewish youth to be a part of the community, come together with like-minded peers, make new friends … [Read more...]

By Jacob Kamaras
JNS.org
In an ever-polarizing age in America, nonprofits often need to decide how to make their organization’s voice or constituency’s voice heard on policy issues without making overtly political statements. Such was the delicate balancing act navigated by the BBYO Jewish pluralistic teen movement and the thousands of attendees at its recent International Convention.
President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on the entry of non-citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations continues to dominate the national discourse, and BBYO’s Feb. 16-20 convention in Dallas was no exception, with the travel ban as well as the issues of refugees and immigration more broadly finding their way into both plenary sessions and breakout discussions.
With teens, educators, professionals and … [Read more...]

DALLAS, TX - At a time when many young people are feeling disconnected from institutional life, thousands of Jewish teens have converged in Dallas this weekend for the 2017 International Convention (IC) featuring figures from the worlds of politics, activism, entertainment and business who have aimed to “change the game.”
The convention drew nearly 4,800 Jewish teen leaders, educators, professionals and philanthropists from 48 North American states, districts and provinces, and 30 countries, making it one of the largest Jewish communal leadership events in North America and the largest gathering of Jewish teen leaders worldwide.
At IC 2017, teens participate in an experience that challenges them spiritually, personally and intellectually. The convention will focus on how various … [Read more...]

I'm astonished that Jewish life in Odessa and other former communist countries is thriving and almost unrecognizable to the stories of my youth.
By Elissa Katz
When I was younger, it took me a long time to realize that my parents were actually the ones with the funny accents, countering my belief that all of my childhood friend's parents sounded a bit strange.
Rukhi Verh and Verka Serduchka, the famous Russian-language singers, were often played on full volume during long car rides, red beet borscht was served with a dollop of sour cream, and we always fasted on Yom Kippur.
In our family, that's what it meant to be Ukrainian Jews.
And yet my perspective on what it means to be a Jew from the Russian-speaking world has critically transformed during my recent time in Odessa and among … [Read more...]

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